BETTINSOLI VISIT

By Don Brunt

Don Brunt travels to Brescia to visit an italian marque, almost unknown only a few years ago, that has Become a householD name in shooting circles.
hances are there arent many gunshops in the UK which dont have at least a couple of Bettinsolis on their shelves. But the Italian brand hasnt always been a household name. In years gone by it was seen as a solid workhorse: fine, but nothing special. That has changed. OK, its still no Perazzi but considering how much these guns cost, youd have to be more than a little mad to assume otherwise. The recent upturn in its fortunes over here has largely been created by RUAG Ammotec, which began importing the marque only a few years ago. But to fully understand the transformation of

BETTINSOLI
the company we have to look back to its very beginning. Tarcisio Bettinsoli has been involved in the world of gunmaking since 1947, when he was just 13 years old. His career has had its highs and lows, one of the toughest times being a short spell at Beretta during his youth. Being an ambitious young man who wanted to make a success of his life, Tarcisio was keen to learn and to work hard. However, being strongly unionised at the time, Beretta produced everything to a strict timetable and machining each part was supposed to take a set number of minutes. Tarcisio, on the other hand, wanted to work as hard as he could and ended up working faster than his union colleagues liked. Needless to say, that marriage did not last long. Determined to make his own guns, Tarcisio set up his own company in 1969 using components manufactured by generic parts suppliers. By 1980 his factory employed 12 staff who produced 1,000 guns per year. His son Roberto became more involved in the business as he grew older, and saw that the future lay not in assembling other peoples components but in creating guns to an in-house design. The market at that time was full of guns which looked

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BETTINSOLI VISIT
By Don Brunt

Bettinsolis use of the lAtest technology ensures A quAlity product one month as some countries do in one year, he commented. The high volume of UK sales has proved of benefit for the factory as it has meant that the few problems that have occurred have shown up early and been quickly remedied. Quality seems to be a point of pride for the company, as Roberto explained: We are embarking on an extremely stringent quality control regime. We do this because it is something the market demands and will benefit both our customers and us in the long term. If our guns do not go wrong then they do not need to come back

A lot of Bettinsolis work is still done By hAnd basically identical, so without its own designs the only way Bettinsoli could differentiate its product was through price. Roberto considered design individuality to be the key to success, and he steered the firm in that direction from that point onwards. So Bettinsoli purchased its first CNC machine in the early 1980s, and since then has been producing more and more of its components inhouse. Today its 14 highly automated machines produce everything bar a handful of parts. Only three parts are now made as a casting: the top lever, the button safety and the trigger. Everything else is made from forged steel. Bettinsoli today operates from two factories: one where the in-house manufacturing takes place, and another where assembly and finishing are completed before dispatch to one of the 16 countries in Europe where the brand is sold. As is often the case with Italian guns, a large proportion goes to the worlds largest market for firearms, the USA, which takes 38% of the annual production of 13,500. The British market is also important for Bettinsoli, with more than 700 guns per year being sold through distributor RUAG. This is because we are what Roberto calls a country of heavy users. No, he is not implying any narcotics dependency rather that we in the UK shoot more shells per year than many of our European neighbours. In the UK it seems that shooters fire as many cartridges in

the fActory hAs A friendly Atmosphere

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BETTINSOLI VISIT
By Don Brunt

Bettinsolis supersport, imported into the uk Along with the rest of the rAnge By ruAg Ammotec under warranty. Therefore our distributors do not have to spend so much money on after-sales service, meaning they can sell the guns at a lower price which makes it more attractive to new buyers, and so on. That is not to say that it isnt hard work to produce a high-quality gun at an affordable price, because it has been a difficult process to change the way people both inside and outside the trade think of quality. However, we are proud of our products and there are many manufacturers who are envious of our ability to produce innovative, quality guns at such a competitive price. An example of that innovation is the laser-cut engraving and chequering found on the guns. This is now commonplace, but Bettinsolis were among the first guns to be seen sporting such cutting-edge alternative technologies, and todays laser-cut finish is, to the casual observer, indistinguishable from the real thing. The company is always looking for ways to differentiate its products from others in the market and the new packaging for both multichokes and recoil pads does exactly that. With a handy branded carry case for each, there is no reason for ever losing any of those important bits and pieces and how many manufacturers in this price bracket supply their guns with three different sizes of pad? Also, unlike many guns in the same price bracket Bettinsoli's multichokes are of a thin walled design which does away with what some consider to be unsightly barrel swelling around the muzzles. Look at the Diamond Line Deluxe or Diamond Line, which make up the bulk of UK sales: the fit and finish is truly impressive considering the price tag, and its hardly surprising that the brand has received such outstanding praise from industry and public alike. The budget sector of the clay gun market is highly competitive and fickle, too, as others have found to their cost. However with a partner like RUAG and the urge to keep improving, innovating and exploring new models and techniques, it looks like the name Bettinsoli may be on our lips for many years to come. To find your nearest Bettinsoli dealer contact RUAG AMMOTEC on 01579 362319 or visit www.ruag.co.uk With thanks to Tower Guns of Brewham, Somerset for the loan of the Diamondline Sporter.

All guns come with A cAse useful for cArrying Bits And pieces

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